Scooping shredded barbecue and dishing out banana pudding with a side of conversation keeps Deborah Thorne busy most weekdays.

The longtime New Ellenton resident has stories to share about life and the area while serving food at the Carolina Bar-B-Que. Every once in a while, the topic of Savannah River Site, which is less than five miles away, comes up as part of lunch talk.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced last month that 3,000 coffee can-size canisters of plutonium would be shipped into the site during the next three years.

The plutonium consolidation - which includes some materials mixed with highly enriched uranium - was produced decades ago for use in nuclear weapons that are no longer needed.

Rarely does concern about any catastrophic nuclear event, or even concern about what might actually happen behind the gates on the site, come up at Carolina Bar-B-Que.

"To me it's just been a safe plant," said Ms. Thorne, who worked in administration at SRS for a few years.

With more plutonium headed to the area within the next few months, jobs seem to be more important to area residents than any health concerns.

Before her parents began working at the site, Ms. Thorne said, she was fearful of the facility.

"Even though we hear about it, we're not in it, so we don't understand it," she said. "When my parents worked out there, I learned more about the place. Then I decided to work out there."

Now, she's convinced that the site is one of the safest places in Aiken County: "I think we probably get more pollution from what we eat than what's out there. I've seen how food can be contaminated, and that scares me more."

Retired SRS worker Alonzo Moody, of White Pond, agrees that a lack of knowledge about the site can engender fears.

"It's kind of hard to explain it if nobody's been out there," he said.

Mr. Moody, who worked at SRS for 26 years, said he has been asked about animals growing extra limbs and eyeballs.

With more plutonium coming to the area, Mr. Moody said, education about what goes on at the site is needed more than ever.

"We have radiation to kill cancer, so it isn't as bad as people think," he said. "With all the safety precautions, it's pretty hard to catch anything."

Mr. Moody also said the jobs coming to the area with the new shipments are needed: "It is slim to none in some instances to find work around here; somebody has got to provide jobs."

Reach Julia Sellers at (803) 648-1395, ext. 106, or julia.sellers@augustachronicle.com